July, 2020 - Analytics | Strategy | Innovation

Key Takeaways from my In-office turned Work-from-Home Internship

I have decided to break the monotony of posts today and reserve Fridays for nothing nerdy, just light-hearted lifestyle posts. Amidst this new normal narrative which has been going on and on all around the world, I thought that it would be nice to share some things we can all do in Singapore over the weekends, while sticking to the maximum 5 people restriction, and excludes activities like night life or karaoke which are just plain socially irresponsible. Do leave a comment below if you have other things to do which are not inside my list!

1. Look at the Night View in Singapore

Firstly the night view in Singapore. Many of my foreign friends have praised the waterfront at Singapore River being the dream location to be at. You could walk down Orchard Road and be dazzled by the lights. As an added bonus during this pandemic, you would experience less crowds and fully immerse in your experience.

2. Take a Stroll by the Seaside

A nice empty view of Tanjong Beach at Sentosa taken by me on a Sunday.

If the night view is not your thing, why not try the Sea View instead? Good news to you, Sentosa drive in is currently free of charge till 30 September. Ravel in the marvellous beaches at the southern side of Singapore with much more space to yourself. This makes a perfect retreat since travel is not yet allowed anyway.

3. Go for a Run

One of your only chances to keep your mask off in this new normal. Running allows you to relax and break out of the confinements of the four walls at home. This was especially relevant during the circuit breaker (many other countries call this lockdown), but nevertheless, a run is still a great way to relax.

4. Hit the Weights

Well a reopening would not be perfect until you finally have the chance to visit gyms again after months of inactivity! Felt my muscles aching after the session but it was a great experience! Hope to finally be able to get some gains and fulfil your new year’s resolution set half a year ago! (Time check, it’s July!)

5. Visit the Supermarket

Photo Taken at Cold Storage Bugis Junction

Whether you are looking for baking needs, a quick fix meal, or just a snack to binge on, the supermarket offers a variety of choices for all sorts of people. As a business graduate, I personally love walking down the aisles to look at the product offerings and promotions, getting a tinge of satisfaction in the process.

6. Visit a Nature Reserve or Park

I really love parks and nature reserves. Visiting these green spaces which cover a quarter of Singapore is the perfect way to rest and rejuvenate. Studies have shown that green is a colour which helps people relax. Look at some of your phone applications, notice many of them are green? What makes you relax naturally makes you feel happy, keep these green spaces on your list, just like how you keep those green apps in your phone.

7. Take Online Courses

Something else which I have been doing is to take up online courses on Coursera. They have kindly offered free access to their certification track courses for NTU students and many other leading universities up till September 30 2020! Hooray to free lessons! While the pandemic is ongoing, it’s a great time to up-skill ourselves to be well-prepared for the future.

8. Go on a Food Hunt

What would be a list of things to do in Singapore without food? Head down cultural places in Singapore like Jalan Besar, Bugis and Joo Chiat to be enthralled by the wide selection of food in Singapore. (Doing my part on the support local movement in Singapore by adding this!) Do head down to the many leading food blogs in Singapore to search for any recommendations!

9. Have a nice long Nap

The last thing on this list is to have a really good rest. Singapore is one of the nations with the highest levels of overtime work done. As we approach this new normal where a lot of the economy is going at a slower pace, do take this chance to have a break from the hustle and bustle, to recollect and think on your next steps ahead!

The road to recovery of the economy may be long but life still goes on! Let me know in the comments below what lifestyle posts you would like me to share next!

Image Credits: Photo by Joshua Ang on Unsplash

For more COVID-19 Pandemic Specials:

COVID-19 Pandemic: Should I Start Work or Go Back to School?

You might also like to look at a few things which I done at Stuttgart, Germany during a short layover!

6 things to do for 2 Hours in Stuttgart, Germany

You have read about what to take in the Business Analytics Specialisation in NBS, you would also notice that there is a lot of General and Unrestricted Electives which would need to be done as part of the curriculum. There are many choices and it might be difficult to make a choice. (I experienced this first hand and ended up overloading unrestricted electives to more than twice the requirement.) I am here to help you plan your electives.

Study a Minor

One of the things about studying in a leading university like Nanyang Technological University is the chance to take a minor programme. As of writing, there is over 40 minors for students to choose from. Here are some minors which I feel would be complementary to the Business programme at Nanyang Business School.

Minor in Entrepreneurship

To complement my Business Analytics degree, I decided to take up a Minor in Entrepreneurship programme, where I was given the opportunity to start my own business with a team consisting of students from both Business and Engineering. Business and Entrepreneurship is complementary as there is a slightly different perspective when working for a business and running your own business. A key takeaway which I had was the ownership of the outcome of business decisions which my team and I had to make over the course of the whole minor. It was especially satisfying to make a profit after overcoming many hardships.

Minor in Environmental Sustainability

I did not manage to take this minor but it was one of my minors in consideration. In this world where sustainability is growing in importance by consumers, an environmental sustainability minor would expose business students to ethical decision making, and taking into account the true cost of business decisions. I took one module in this minor, AB0502 MANAGING SUSTAINABILITY, where I had the chance to come out with a business plan to revive the dying Peranakan culture in Singapore.

Minor in Strategic Communications

I was a bit too late when I wanted to do this minor, it was only offered at the point of admission to NTU. This would be a very useful minor for those who have to deal with interactions with people (basically most business majors have to.). Would not elaborate too much on this as I did not get exposed to any of the modules, do comment below if you took this minor and would like to share you experience!

Study Related Modules

Another way you can use your electives is to study modules related to your major. As a business student, there is only 6 specialisation modules which you are required to take on, which may not be enough knowledge, especially if you want to learn the many other aspects in Business. As a Business Analytics Student, my interest in management has prompted me to take on electives in Marketing, as well as Programming, as I feel that these would aid me in being a more rounded business graduate! No matter what your specialisation is, I strongly encourage you to at least try a module or two outside of the specialisation. For all you know, you might realise that the other specialisation may be more interesting to you!

Do Modules on Exchange

If you had the chance to go for exchange, you would realise that the lessons conducted while on exchange may be in an entirely different format from how lessons are at NTU and NBS. Some schools have specific specialties, for instance in ESSEC Business School where I went for exchange, there was a strong focus in marketing and entrepreneurship, therefore I decided to take up related modules to gain a world view in the world class institution for the subject matter. Engaging with the foreign students on exchange also challenged my perspective on things and developed me as a person.

Try Something Different

If the former three options don’t suit your taste, why not try something different? You could learn a new language, play a new sport, or take up art classes. With so many schools in NTU, I’m sure you will find electives which will interest you!

[NEW] MOOC Courses

Recently, Nanyang Technological University has allowed for credit transfer of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) from e-learning content providers like Coursera and EdX. I have personally tried some e-learning from them but not the approved courses for NTU. For more information do refer here! Do read about my MOOC experience here:

Reflections from 3 Months of Distance Learning on Coursera

If you liked this post, you might also need help with an analytics module choice:

Nanyang Business School: Business Analytics Module Selection Guide

Otherwise, here is a general picture of why I took up a specialisation in business analytics:

https://tanweixiang.com/three-reasons-why-i-picked-a-specialisation-in-business-analytics-at-nanyang-business-school/

Do read other Analytics related posts here!

I have also come out with a Tier List of Modules in NTU NBS on Youtube, do take a look here!